SB Nation - Danny Briere

Putting the Flyers Lack of Offense in Context

Geoff Detweiler — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:15:12 -0000

The Flyers need someone to start putting the puck in the net. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The way that title is worded, you'd think this would be another of those "it's not that bad!" stories. You'd be wrong.

Rather, this is just to show exactly how bad the Flyers offense has been this year in comparison to last year. The team statistics are obvious - they aren't scoring, their power play isn't clicking, and they aren't winning the even-strength battle.

Now, this is another stat heavy, table-filled post. But this time I kept the numbers simple. I'm looking purely at qualcomp, qualteam, goals per 60 minutes, and points per 60 minutes. Since it's tough to compare this season to last due to the number of games played, the rating stats are a lot easier to use. Is it perfect? No. But it shows you how drastic the drop off has been.

The good news? Our defenseman seem to be scoring more this year than last year. The bad news? Everything else.

After the jump, tables and analysis.

I'll start by first spewing out the team statistics. This year's team (again, this is just a look at the offense) is scoring 2.66 goals per game, good for 20th in the league. Their 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio is 0.96, good for 17th in the league. With the man advantage, they're converting 20.7% of their opportunities, good for 10th in the league. All of this while putting 31.8 shots per game on target, 7th most in the league.

How does that compare to last year? The team scored 3.17 goals per game, good for 4th in the league. They had a 5-on-5 ratio of 1.01, 14th in the league. Their power play was successful 22.5% of the time, 6th best in the league, and they fired 29.8 shots per game on target, 14th in the league.

So, on the team level, they're getting two additional shots on goal, but more than half of a goal less. They're losing the 5-on-5 battle after barely winning it last year, and their power play has dropped from one of the best to above average. Certainly, you already knew this: lots of shots (most of them easy), not a lot of goals, poor defensive play, and a much worse power play.

But when you look at this on an individual level, you begin to see the problem.

NAME	POS	GP	RATING	QUALCOMP	QUALTEAM	G/60	A1/60	A2/60	PTS/60
DARROLLPOWE	C	19	-1.61	-0.137	-0.137	1.82	0	0	1.82
DAVIDLALIBERTE	RW	11	0.2	-0.093	-0.215	1.57	0.79	0	2.36
DANIELBRIERE	C	28	-0.55	0.057	0.058	1.12	0.48	0.32	1.92
JEFFCARTER	C	35	-0.68	0.054	0.115	0.75	0.5	0.37	1.62
MIKERICHARDS	C	35	0.58	0.096	0.313	0.74	0.25	0.37	1.37
ARRONASHAM	RW	28	-0.91	-0.046	-0.032	0.68	0.68	0.23	1.6
JAMESVAN RIEMSDYK	RW	32	0.95	0	-0.153	0.68	1.02	0.51	2.2
CLAUDEGIROUX	RW	35	0.79	-0.041	0.066	0.56	0.56	0.14	1.27
SCOTTHARTNELL	RW	35	0.03	0.051	0.123	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.61
DANIELCARCILLO	LW	31	1.06	-0.022	-0.253	0.36	0.18	0.36	0.89
MIKAPYORALA	LW	34	-0.05	0.067	-0.06	0.31	0.15	0.15	0.61
CHRISPRONGER	D	35	0.9	0.112	0.278	0.29	0.39	0.39	1.06
BRAYDONCOBURN	D	34	-0.55	0.057	0.015	0.22	0.44	0.11	0.77
MATTHEWCARLE	D	35	1.54	0.067	0.146	0.19	0.48	0.29	0.97
IANLAPERRIERE	C	35	-1.51	-0.043	0.072	0.16	0	0.49	0.65
KIMMOTIMONEN	D	35	0.23	0.036	-0.11	0.11	0	0.68	0.79
RYANPARENT	D	27	-0.35	-0.108	-0.33	0	0.19	0.19	0.38
JONATHONKALINSKI	C	10	-0.81	-0.098	-0.146	0	1.77	0	1.77
DANNYSYVRET	D	13	-3.11	-0.362	-0.303	0	0	0.81	0.81
OLE-KRISTIANTOLLEFSEN	D	10	-0.98	-0.312	-0.738	0	0.65	0.65	1.29
SIMONGAGNE	LW	11	1.76	0.145	0.324	0	0.45	0	0.45
BLAIRBETTS	C	16	-0.37	-0.075	-0.117	0	0.37	0	0.37
ANDREASNODL	RW	10	-0.39	-0.089	-0.158	0	0	0.77	0.77
OSKARSBARTULIS	D	21	-1.44	-0.047	-0.169	0	0.23	0.23	0.46
RILEYCOTE	LW	12	1.24	-0.046	-0.505	0	0	0	0

This is the data for this year, sorted by goals per 60. There are a number of things wrong with that. First, I found that Gagne actually has scored 0.3 goals per 60 minutes (one goal in 198 minutes, feel free to correct my math) rather than 0. However, that still ranks him below Mika Pyorala.

Now, here's how those same numbers look from last year.

NAME	POS	GP	RATING	QUALCOMP	QUALTEAM	G/60	A1/60	A2/60	PTS/60
JEFFCARTER	C	82	1.17	0.041	0.042	1.4	0.72	0.52	2.64
SCOTTHARTNELL	RW	82	0.68	0.008	0.172	1.26	0.66	0.55	2.47
DANIELBRIERE	C	29	1.46	-0.048	0.135	1.23	0.88	0.53	2.63
JOFFREYLUPUL	RW	79	-0.05	-0.002	0.245	1.13	0.6	0.3	2.03
SIMONGAGNE	LW	79	0.85	0.024	0.173	1.01	0.6	0.72	2.33
MIKEKNUBLE	RW	82	0.07	0.041	0.304	0.91	0.4	0.17	1.47
CLAUDEGIROUX	RW	42	0.82	-0.04	-0.021	0.8	0.91	0.68	2.39
ARRONASHAM	RW	78	-0.26	-0.082	-0.263	0.72	0.63	0.45	1.79
MIKERICHARDS	C	79	0.7	0.048	0.178	0.7	0.97	0.27	1.94
DARROLLPOWE	C	60	-1.97	-0.066	-0.198	0.42	0.21	0.32	0.95
MATTHEWCARLE	D	76	-0.1	-0.009	0.023	0.19	0.37	0.23	0.79
RANDYJONES	D	47	-0.01	-0.014	-0.013	0.18	0	0.27	0.45
ANDREASNODL	RW	38	-3.14	-0.02	0.01	0.15	0.46	0	0.61
BRAYDONCOBURN	D	80	-0.26	0.014	0.114	0.13	0.22	0.18	0.53
DANIELCARCILLO	LW	74	-0.87	-0.034	-0.14	0.08	0.31	0.46	0.84
ANDREWALBERTS	D	79	-0.01	-0.063	-0.09	0.06	0.23	0.41	0.7
KIMMOTIMONEN	D	77	0.4	0.06	0.172	0.05	0.32	0.32	0.69
RYANPARENT	D	31	-0.44	0.069	0.251	0	0.13	0.39	0.51
RILEYCOTE	LW	63	-2.22	-0.144	-0.489	0	0.46	0.23	0.69
LASSEKUKKONEN	D	22	-1	-0.116	-0.172	0	0.29	0.29	0.58
LUCASBISA	D	39	-0.21	-0.049	-0.053	0	0.1	0.1	0.21

Important things to see here, bullet point style:

Last year, the team had 5 players who averaged at least one goal per 60 minutes of ice time. This year, only Darroll Powe, David Laliberte, and Danny Briere have accomplished that.
Along the same lines, the team had 6 players who averaged at least two points per 60 minutes of play last year. This year, only David Laliberte is doing that. Only 4 players are averaging at least 1.75 points per 60; Powe, Laliberte, Briere, and Jonathon Kalinski. Considering only Briere has played 20 games, the team is only seeing Danny Briere produce so far this year.
Jeff Carter is obviously having a down year in comparison to last year. But the fact that he's scoring one fewer point per game and nearly half as many goals per game as last year, is worse than even I expected.
With that said, Carter is facing stiffer competition with worse teammates. Couple that with his steep drop in production, and you see why he's been such a disappointment so far this year.
The flip side of Carter though, is Briere. He's also playing against tougher competition with worse teammates, yet his drop in goals (1.23 to 1.12) is manageable, especially compared with Carter's (1.4 to 0.75). And for some reason I still don't think this will stop people from hating Briere.
Since Carter and Briere have been playing together for a large part of this season, it's no surprise that Scott Hartnell has also seen a drop in his qualteam rating while his qualcomp number went up. But when you look at how similar his competition has been, his severe drop in scoring is even more drastic. His goals per 60 fell from 1.26 last year to just 0.4 this year. And he actually played more last year than he has so far this year.
As mentioned above, the defense has actually upped their production from last year. Matt Carle has gone from 0.79 points per 60 to 0.97. Braydon Coburn from 0.53 to 0.77; Kimmo Timonen from 0.69 to 0.79; and Chris Pronger from 0.62 in Anaheim to 1.06. Only Ryan Parent has seen a drop in scoring (0.51 to 0.38), but he's also seen his goals against per 60 shrink from 2.96 to 1.9. We can certainly see the problems this team has - and defense is certainly one of them - but the lack of scoring is not the fault of the blueline.
As much as Claude Giroux has impressed this year - he's one of the few who are noticeably playing every night - his drop-off is still steep. He's obviously one who likes to set up goals rather than score them, so his goals/60 falling from 0.8 to 0.56 isn't what is alarming. Instead, it's his points per 60 (2.39 to 1.27) and his primary assists per 60 (0.91 to 0.56) that are the most troubling. Everyone noticed how he wasn't scoring much this year (7 goals in 35 games), but he's also failing to get the assists.
Mike Richards is one of the few who have seen his goal scoring rate increase (modestly, from 0.7 to 0.74), but his primary assists have plummeted from 0.97 to 0.25. Having only a quarter as many set ups per game from a huge part of your offense is yet another troubling development.
If you are someone who thinks James van Riemsdyk was supposed to "replace" Mike Knuble (or Joffrey Lupul for that matter) in the offense, I'm sure you're a bit disappointed - especially with his play of late. However, JVR is scoring 2.2 points per 60 minutes of ice time, higher than both Knuble and Lupul last year (1.47 and 2.03 respectively). The problem arises when you look at his goals/60, which at 0.68 is much lower than both Knuble (0.91) and Lupul (1.13). Either way, van Riemsdyk's numbers continue to impress, despite his largely invisible play of late.
Lastly, for you Randy Jones lovers out there, his offensive contributions from last year (4 goals and 4 assists in 47 games due to injury) may not be offset this year, but Oskars Bartulis comes close. Through 21 games, Bartulis only has 3 assists. However, he's producing at 0.46 points per 60, just ahead of Jones' 0.45. Plus, Jones failed to register a primary assist all of last year.

Obviously, there's a lot of information there. And mostly, all of that could be seen just from watching the games. However, when you look at just how bad the Flyers are doing compared to last year, it still amazes you.

Anything you guys spotted that I missed? Any explanation you have? Do you have faith they can turn it around?

All team stats gotten through NHL.com. The tables and all individual stats acquired from Behind the Net.

Weiss, Vokoun lead Panthers to physical victory on road, smack Flyers 4-1

Whale4ever — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:41:33 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

2 days ago: Philadelphia Flyers' Daniel Carcillo (13) is sent flying after being checked by Florida Panthers' Jason Garrison (52) and Mike Duco (68) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Points aplenty by the end of this one: Stephen Weiss (career-high 4 points), Michael Frolik (3), and Nathan Horton (2 goals) led the Florida offense over a confused and mentally battered Flyers club which displayed neither a semblance of confidence nor a peek at the realistic talent which is being paid top dollar.

Yes, the game got physical, as ~~hoped for~~ expected: Gregory Campbell and Ian Laperriere with fighting majors just 1:48 in, captains Bryan McCabe and Mike Richards at 3:42, and Mike Duco taking on a rather spry Laperriere at 13:26. Of the first period.

It settled down, however, as both teams gained - or lost - their legs in front of 19,323 paying patrons: a two-goal Florida lead going into the third frame was expanded upon (rather quickly) as the Cats banged in another duo within the opening six minutes.

Bottom Line: Panthers kept cool, resilient, and open to adjustment (rumors say that's what winning teams do) on a strange, bizarre evening. So much was expected: defending the honor of ~~Charlestown~~ Sunrise is never a short order, but this bunch made it look good (Laperriere's 30 minutes in penalties didn't hurt, yet keep in mind Dennis Seidenberg burned 17 of his own on a terrific night with 22:08, 1 assist, and a +1). Coach Pete DeBoer - again - kept his troops on-topic during what might have degenerated into bedlam with the entire league watching. Left Wachovia with the win, a healthy roster, and heretofore unbeknownst confidence...a combination hardly believable just days ago.

For the curious: Steve MacIntyre, understandably expected to log a healthy block of time, clocked 2 minutes on the ice (1 shot). Mike Duco got the lion's share of attention, logging 6:29 (5 pim) while garnering a boatload of money shots via Fox Sports Florida. Bryan Allen was a sparkplug as well (4 pim, 3 shots, 20:12 TOI).

Notes: Florida scored three power play goals. Philadelphia netminder Brian Boucher (hand injury) was yanked after allowing two goals on 13 shots; recent Carolina castoff Michael Leighton replaced him, stopping 15 of 17. Final SOG: PHI over FLA 31-30. McCabe, Allen, Seidenberg, and Duco all had at least 4 pim for the Cats, while Laperierre, Mike Richards ('member him?), and Danny Briere did the same for the Flyers.

Next up: Rangers on Wednesday.

Another Day, Another Loss: Rangers 2, Flyers 1

Geoff Detweiler — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:17:45 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

Boucher looks at the puck behind him after noticing none of the Flyers had shown up to play yet. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)

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Final - 12.19.2009	1	2	3	Total
New York Rangers	1	1	0	2
Philadelphia Flyers	1	0	0	1

Complete Coverage >

[Box Score] - [Full Coverage] - [NYR Reaction]

No words. I have no idea what to say. I'm getting sick of having to write stories about how badly the Flyers played, how they didn't deserve to win, and how they still can't score. How bad are the Flyers? They scored one goal against a team that has been giving up 2.91 per game, good for 9th most in the league.

The Rangers won the battle at even-strength, outscoring the Flyers 2-0 at 5-on-5 play. How rare is this? The Rangers have a -8 goal deferential at 5-on-5 play. Yet the Flyers can't get a goal at even strength. The power play wasn't any better, going 1 for 5.

One of the most telling things in this game was Peter Laviolette calling a timeout after the Rangers first goal. Just over 5 minutes into the game, the Rangers had already outshot the Flyers 5-1 when Claude Giroux had a pass from his knees get picked off in his own zone. Chris Drury put the turnover in the net and Laviolette called a timeout. Not a good start to the game.

In his post-game press conference, Peter Laviolette was clearly not happy:

"It was a poor start, there's no excuse for it. I can't think of one reason why we would come out flat, but we did. We needed the time out to try and refocus. I would have thought we would have ripped the hinges off the gate tonight to get on the ice. We were so far from that in my opinion, to start the game, and we got what we deserved."

The game-winning goal was scored by Artem Ansimov, as his centering pass went off of Ryan Parent's shin pad and past Boucher. It was a lucky bounce, but Ryan Callahan won the battle against Parent in the corner, then beat Parent for positioning in front of the net. They earned their luck, something the Flyers haven't been doing.

After the jump, Random Thoughts, Questions with Answers, highlights, and the Comment of the [Afternoon].

Random Thoughts:

Mika Pyorala only played 5:05 tonight, but he had as many shots on goal as Danny Briere (1) who played 19:45. And it was a scoring chance at that.
With that in mind, I think it's safe to say Pyorala will be a scratch when Darroll Powe returns to the lineup.
Speaking of returning to the lineup, Simon Gagne was rather impressive in his first game back. He logged 20:16 of ice time, had a key assist on Pronger's goal, and showed a lot of jump in his skates. It's good to have him back.
This team's offensive plan is rather predictable. I have a hard time believing the opposing team is surprised by anything the Flyers do in the offensive zone. That makes it easy to defend.
This was mentioned in the game thread by Prometheus74, but the Flyers have now scored 17 goals in their last 11 games. Only twice have they scored more than two goals in that time period, both of them wins. They have only scored 8 goals in their last 9 losses.
The Flyers won the faceoff battle (53%), the shot battle (37-24), and the penalty battle (5-2), but not the war.
District 5.

Questions with Answers:

How does Gagne perform now that he's back in the lineup? He only had one goal in the nine games he played this season, if you remember. He played very well. No goals, but an assist to go along with a strong forecheck.
Do Hartnell and Carter carry over the chemistry they displayed on Thursday? I wasn't impressed with Hartnell at all today, but the Carter-Hartnell-Briere line was the best today.
Can the Flyers successfully stop Marian Gaborik? Yes. Just under 21 minutes of ice time, no points and only 1 shot.
How many people actually make it to the game today? Eh. Two-thirds capacity? I'm obviously not sure. Anybody have a better answer?

Highlights:

Comment of the Night:

Pronger can’t shoot from the point (said two minutes before Pronger scores the tying goal)

JpH89

It's still Always Sidney in Philadelphia: Pens win 3-2 in shootout

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:02:04 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

Boucher was better in this game than last, but he couldn't stop Sidney Crosby from scoring in regulation or the shootout.

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Penguins vs Flyers coverage - Broad Street Hockey

Two night after getting blown out of the water, it was definitely a bounce back night for the Philadelphia Flyers. They went back home and came out with a much better performance. But the Pittsburgh Penguins were there at every corner and matched the intensity and goals all the way through the night.

For all the talk about the Pens power-play, they score 2 goals and really are starting to look better. Moving Evgeni Malkin back to the point has increased puck movement and Chris Kunitz (2 primary assists) and Bill Guerin (1 goal) are playing a simple "go-to-the-net" type game. It's been effective.
Marc-Andre Fleury was stellar with a 31 save on 33 shot effort, including several great saves. The robbery on Daniel Briere is one that'll make highlight films for the rest of the year. At the other end Brian Boucher was great too; a worthy bounce-back performance from his last game.
Two pretty careless stick fouls on Malkin in a span of just over 4 minutes. I'm not gonna job him, he was getting his chances and played well on the power-play, but he's got to buckle down a little with HHT (holding, hooking, tripping).
The three headed monster combined for 16 shots on goal and almost 69 minutes of combined ice-time. That they roll all three out one after another after another gives the opposition no let up.
After coincidental penalties in OT, they played things 3-on-3 for a two minutes which kind of looked like a middle school dance. Neither side really looked comfortable with that much open ice to work with, in fact the Pens kind of circled in their own zone a lot. Easy to tell neither team gets much practice at it.
How deep are the Penguins? Consider this: in the current four game winning streak, they haven't repeated a player in "3 Stars of the night". They go Pascal Dupuis (3rd star 12/10), Sergei Gonchar (1st star); Malkin (3rd star 12/12), Ruslan Fedotenko (1st star); Brooks Orpik (3rd star 12/15), Jordan Staal (2nd star), Crosby (1st star); Fleury (2nd star 12/17), Letang (1st star).

A shame the game was decided with the gimmicky shootout, but Penguin fans almost know what happens when it gets that far: Pittsburgh is now 5-0 in the shootout. Fleury improves to 9 of 10 in stops (backup Brent Johnson is perfect 6 for 6), Crosby's a perfect 5 for 5 in scoring and Letang's a pretty fair 2 for 5. Those three specialists give Pittsburgh a huge leg up if it gets to the skills competition.

Two wins in two games in which they outscored Philly 9-3 on the aggregate is a good showing. The Pens move on to three games in six days before the brief Christmas break; starting Saturday in Buffalo before going home to meet New Jersey and Ottawa. All three of those opponents are in the top 8 of the Eastern Conference's standings, and with goalies like Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur on the horizion, the road doesn't get any easier.

Now out of the comfort zone, Flyers face make or break stretch

Travis Hughes — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:09:30 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Claude Giroux and Mike Richards need to wipe the depressing looks off their faces and get this team going.

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Devils. Bruins. Penguins. Penguins. Rangers. That's the schedule for the Philadelphia Flyers over the next week.

It's officially make or break time. This team needs to string points together right now. Not only are all of these teams rivals, they're all pretty strong opponents. Yeah, you could argue against the Rangers, who have been stuck in neutral just like the Flyers. If you think they won't be up for the first game of the season against the orange and black, though, you're mistaken.

The key is for the Flyers to match intensity this week. The largest problem with this team right now is a simple lack of confidence. They lack it in basically every aspect of the game besides goaltending, and it's a major reason why they simply can't put the puck in the net.

The firing of their coach and friend John Stevens probably didn't help the fragile self-esteem of this group. After all, it's easy to forget that the core of this team is still quite young. They were one of the youngest in the league last year, and the additions of Chris Pronger and Ian Laperriere, along with the subtractions of Joffrey Lupul and Scottie Upshall, have only gone so far in changing that fact.

Besides, Pronger and Laperriere, two guys who were brought in largely to take leadership roles on the club, haven't done so, at least when it comes to an off-ice role, with Pronger saying things like how he doesn't want to step on Mike Richards' toes.

So far under Peter Laviolette, though, the Flyers have been taken out of their comfort zone. In comes a new coach, holding them accountable for stupid, undisciplined penalties right off the bat. Pronger has been, seemingly, a more vocal presence since Laviolette has come on. The new coach has moved morning game day skates from the Wachovia Center to the Skate Zone in Voorhees, where they were located for almost 30 years prior to last season.

That decision a year ago was made in large part to help the younger players, who live in Center City Philadelphia. Now, those young players will have to drive the extra 20 to 30 minutes over the bridge to the practice rink every morning while the veterans, who for the most part live in South Jersey, are given the luxury of the shorter drive on game day mornings.

Laviolette said the issue wasn't even up for debate. He also went into tactical reasons for the move, such as not wanting to be in the same building as the opponent so the team could go over secretive things like power play formations and the like without the other team seeing what he's doing. But whether it was the main reason for the move or not, the young, under performing core has been effectively taken out of their comfort zone.

Now, it's up to them to respond and show they have something to prove. They have to take this personally. Richards has to lead the charge, emotionally and on the ice. He can set the tone for this team early on, and he'll have to against the Devils for the team to have any success. It's not that Richards has to score a goal in the first ten minutes. But when he's at his best, he's zipping around the ice, doing anything possible to make a high-percentage play. He has to set that tone, but his linemates and the other goal scorers on the team have to follow. That means Danny Briere, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk, and most of all, Jeff Carter, have to match his intensity.

The third and fourth lines will continue to get it done. They've been working hard this entire stretch, and that's not surprising given the make-up of those two units. You've got guys like Laperriere and Asham leading the charge on the third line, and those guys simply don't let up. And on the fourth line, you've got a bunch of guys fighting to make a name for themselves in what they know will be a limited time in the NHL.

We have to hope that going up against a few rivals this week, especially the Penguins in a home-and-home that caps off in Philadelphia, will give the Flyers big guns the spark they so desperately need. If you're going to prove that you're still capable of winning the Cup this season, you've got to win against your Cup-contending rivals. You've got to win this week.

Fun Facts From the Flyers Media Guide

Travis Hughes — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:18 -0000

The Flyers media guide never seems to disappoint when it comes to interesting or funny facts.

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As every pro and college sports team does, the Philadelphia Flyers put out a media guide each season. In addition to all those interesting stats TV broadcasters hand out, the book includes profiles of every player on the roster, every member of the organization, and other fun little tidbits. I took a chance to page through the guide recently, and I share some of the best facts with you below.

The bar at the AT&T Pavilion in the Wachovia Center is the largest in-arena bar in the world.
Assistant GM Barry Hanrahan has a labradoodle named Meatball.
VP of Sales Jim Willits might be the reason the Phoenix Coyotes fail in the desert. In his first four years as director of ticket sales for the Coyotes, the arena filled to 94 percent capacity. Since he left in 2002, that number has substantially dropped.
On February 6, 1997 against Montreal, the Legion of Doom -- John LeClair, Eric Lindros, and Mikael Renberg -- scored 16 points in a game, the most by a line in one game in franchise history. 20 days later in Ottawa, they repeated the feat.
The names of Arron Asham's kids: Dexter, Azilyn, and Oceane.
If Matt Carle could have dinner with anybody, he would choose to dine with Santa Claus.
Ed Snider has 14 grandchildren.
Fred Shero holds the highest win percentage of any coach in team history, with a .642 mark. Terry Murray holds the best playoff win percentage for a coach at .609.
Brian Boucher loves Spongebob and wont eat sushi.
The Flyers went undefeated against the Penguins at home in 42 consecutive games from February 7, 1974 to December 8, 1988.
Darroll Powe would like Norm MacDonald to play him in a movie about his life.
You know how you know Ian Laperriere is gay? He listens to Coldplay before games. Linked video NSFW.
Chris Pronger's first car, a 1983 Ford Ranger, was held together by rust.
Mike Richards dreams of being on stage at an Eminem concert.
Los Angeles couldn't beat the Flyers from October 22, 1974 until February 5, 1983 -- 32 games.
Among goalies with at least 1,000 minutes played, Roman Cechmanek holds the best GAA mark -- 1.96. At the opposite end of the spectrum (no pun intended), Bobby Taylor had a GAA of 4.05 in 44 games.
Ray Emery is allergic to cheese.

More after the jump...

The most points the Flyers have compiled against one team? 299 against Pittsburgh all-time, an 132-76-30-5 all-time record.
Simon Gagne's favorite numbers are 4 8 15 16 23 42.
Philadelphia has only played Columbus eight times. Ever. 4-1-3-0 in those games.
Craig Berube has a son named Nashota.
The orange and black scored two goals in seven seconds in the first period against St. Louis on December 27, 1988. They scored three goals in 35 seconds in the eighth minute of the second period against Boston on March 1, 1979. They scored four goals in one minute, 22 seconds against Pittsburgh in the third period on October 11, 1981.
Kimmo Timonen has a thing for Robert DeNiro. He'd like to have dinner with him and he'd also select him to play him in a movie about his life.
The Flyers have never allowed a goal on a penalty shot in the playoffs, despite four chances by opponents.
Ian Laperriere, movie star. He played Montreal Canadiens great "Boom Boom" Geoffrion in Maurice Richard, a movie about another Habs legend.
Despite winning the Stanley Cup in 1974/75, the Flyers scored just 61 goals at home that season, the low mark in team history.
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is listed as "single" but he also "got married over the summer to his wife, Guro."
In his one game as a Flyer goaltender, Martin Houle had a GAA of 30.00. He allowed one goal in two minutes of ice time.
The Flyers are 29-4-3-1 all time against Atlanta.
Scott Hartnell's favorite cartoon character is Darkwing Duck.
Prior to this season, the Flyers had sold out 1,054 of their 1,621 home games.
Raw onions don't get along with Braydon Coburn.
The Flyers have a winning record against every team in the NHL, with the exception of the Boston Bruins, who they are 59-80-21-5 against all-time.
Danny Briere's first car was an Izuzu Impulse.

Another game, Another shutout: Flyers lose 2-0

Travis Hughes — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:31:30 -0000

[TSN Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Ottawa Reaction]

Final - 12.10.2009	1	2	3	Total
Ottawa Senators	0	0	2	2
Philadelphia Flyers	0	0	0	0

Complete Coverage >

Six games, three shutouts. Watch America's Most Wanted this weekend and maybe we can find out who kidnapped the Philadelphia Flyers offense. With the exception of one game against the New York Islanders, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, and Danny Briere have been invisible over the last month.

I don't know what to think and I don't have answers, but this team just can't score. They have absolutely zero confidence. Maybe a trade is necessary to shake up the offense. Maybe they just need Simon Gagne, Blair Betts, and Darroll Powe back in the lineup. Maybe we overrated them and they're just bad. I simply don't know. With the amount of games coming up in the next few weeks -- really, up until the Olympic break -- they can't afford to continually give up points like this. It's frustrating, not to mention depressing.

They outworked the Senators tonight. They had more chances and they had an almost full length five-on-three power play. Their goalie performed like the starter he was in 2000. And yet, empty net goals not withstanding, they still lost a 1-0 defensive struggle.

Credit is due to the Senators. Brian Elliott played quite well. They did a great job of clogging the middle of the ice with bodies, not allowing the Flyers to do much on the power play. Still, Ottawa is not really a good hockey team. They've played over their heads thus far this season. They're relying on a goaltender right now who has only played 47 NHL games.

You've gotta win these games. The Flyers keep on proving that they're incapable of that.

After the jump, a few more notes on this one, lowlights, questions with answers, and the comment of the night.

Some assorted thoughts...

If I were Brian Boucher, I'd be furious. He's playing excellent hockey in the absence of Ray Emery, but he can't get a win because his team can't put the puck in the other net. At the same time, it's a reassuring sign that things aren't totally lost with Emery down. If the offense can get a damn goal.
The orange and black may have scored a goal at one point during this one, but the score sheet wont say that. The puck was lodged under Elliott's pads, and he seemed to be in the net with it. He was pushed by Scott Hartnell, though, so the officials, despite heading over to the table, didn't even send the play to Toronto for review.
The power play showed excellent puck movement, but unlike Tuesday against the Isles, the passing lanes across the middle of the ice didn't exist tonight. That forces the shots to come from the outside, and Elliott had an answer every time the Flyers challenged him down below the faceoff circles. When shots came from the point, especially via the stick of Chris Pronger, they rarely even made it through to Elliott.
Matt Carkner delivered a cheap shot to Mike Richards late in the third period, giving the Flyers some hope with a PP. On that ensuing PP, it was the same story.
Braydon Coburn's giveaway to Jesse Winchester leading up to the game-sealing empty net goal was just terrible.
The Flyers took several penalties tonight, but Peter Laviolette said after the game that they weren't the same kind of undisciplined penalties that he punished the team for during Wednesday's practice.
On the bright side, the penalty kill did a good job killing off Ottawa's PP chances.
This was, by far, the most boring hockey game in quite some time. Sens fans and Flyers fans agree.
Oddly, the CSN broadcast was the only one of this game tonight. It was simulcast on TSN 2 in Canada, as well as around the country on various CSN affiliates.
On that same note, Jim Jackson reportedly lost his glasses prior to the game (I didn't know he wore glasses?) and was forced to wear prescription sunglasses while calling the game. Jim Jackson wears his sunglasses at night.

Questions With Answers

Can the Flyers keep themselves out of the penalty box for prolonged stretches tonight? No, but it didn't hurt them like it did on Tuesday.
Will the power play sustain the success they had on Tuesday night? They held the puck well, but anything more than that is apparently too much to ask for.
Does the top line continue its sexy-looking play? Not even a little bit.
Can Boucher keep up his hot play? Definitely. Solid games are becoming the norm for Boosh.
How successful are the Flyers in keeping the Sens big guns off the score sheet? Fisher had an assist, but Alfreddson, Spezza, Michalek, and Cheechoo were all held off.
Does Jarkko Ruutu kill a guy? No, but he did receive a cross-checking minor in the second.

Comment Of The Night

At least he’s scoring somewhere

>> JpH89, on Carter getting some tail at the club

Lowlights

Game 27, Preview and Open Thread: Se remettre sur les rails, Philadelphia Flyers at Montreal Canadiens

Travis Hughes — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:04:08 -0000

#12 Philadelphia Flyers (13-12-1, 27 pts) at #11 Montreal Canadiens (13-14-2, 28 pts)
Le Centre Bell - 7:30 PM ET - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
TV: The Comcast Network HD, RDS HD
Radio: 1210 AM WPHT, XM 206
This is the open game thread.
Behind Enemy Lines: Habs Eyes On The Prize

Broadcast Note: Take notice above. Thanks to the Allen Iverson show dominating Philadelphia sports media tonight, the Flyers have been relegated to secondary status on television, radio, and probably in the minds of most fans. On local TV, the game will be on The Comcast Network, while the radio broadcast can be found at 1210 AM WPHT.

The Flyers travel north of the border tonight to take on the Montreal Canadiens, another team that is struggling mightily as the season slowly shifts to "not so early anymore." They'll look to get their new coach his first Philadelphia win, but they'll of course be without Dan Carcillo as he serves game one of his four game suspension. Regardless of how you feel about the suspension, Carcillo has been one of the hardest working Flyers over this current stretch of pitiful hockey, and his absence in the lineup isn't good for the team.

Riley Cote will replace him. Enough said, I think.

Ray Emery's absence tonight, on the other hand, might be able to help the team. He's been playing pretty pitiful hockey himself, and after looking absolutely terrible against Washington on Saturday night, he'll give way to Brian Boucher tonight. I hate to say it, but are the words goalie controversy slowly creeping up? If the current trend continues, that could be the case.

Two players that will be in the lineup and should be able to help the Flyers tonight are Claude Giroux and Danny Briere. But since we're playing Montreal, they're looooove their French players and their ridiculous trade ideas for said French players to come "home."

Cue Habs Eyes on the Prize today, talking about better potential trading partners for Guillaume Latrendresse, who they recently shipped off to Minnesota. Now maybe I'm taking the out of context and maybe I'm making nothing about a simple passing idea from a Montreal hockey fan. But still, it seems worthy of a reference. After the jump, if you'd oblige.

How about the Philadelphia Flyers Claude Giroux, whose on a steady upward curve?

Latendresse would have fit in nicely with the Flyers, or would the John Leclair flashbacks have been too scary? Guillaume would have been their type of player, very much in the Tim Kerr mode.

The Flyers, who have been spinning their wheels of late, might have opted for such a shakeup rather than canning their coach.

Such a potential trade could have been sprinkled with a future consideration clause on both sides, based upon 2009 to 2011 production, with draft picks in the balance.

The Habs could also have gotten their mits on Daniel Briere as well, alleviating a million bucks a season over a five year term off the Flyers payroll in the process, by offering up Scott Gomez. I'm not a big Briere booster, but I see him as having more upside in a role with Montreal than Gomez at present.

I'll refrain comment and let you form an opinion on that one. Especially that first one. Latrendresse for Giroux. Yep.

Anyway, that's a tangent and there's a hockey game tonight. Montreal's a poor team, but the Flyers sit behind them in the standings. It's time for the orange and black to prove they aren't a poor team themselves, and that sentiment is going to grow if they can't turn this around as soon as possible.

Flyers Line Combinations - slight changes, Briere and Giroux swap spots; Cote in for Carcillo.

Hartnell – Richards – Giroux
JVR – Carter – Briere
Laperriere – Pyorala – Asham
Cote – Kalinski – Nodl

Questions To Answer

Elements of the slump bust: power play. Can they turn it around?
Element two: goaltending. How does Boucher perform?
Element three: lifeless hockey. The Flyers have looked lazy for weeks. Does that stop?
Element four: the system. Is it obvious that Laviolette has already put in some tweaks to the offense, and if said tweaks are obvious, do they seem to work?

Starting Goaltenders

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
PHI - Brian Boucher	7	357	2	4			15	2.52	170	155	.912	0

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
MTL - Carey Price	21	1234	8	10			57	2.77	653	596	.913	0

As mentioned above, the game tonight is on The Comcast Network (ch. 8 for most, ch. 201 in HD) and on the air at 1210 WPHT. Join us here for the discussion and LET'S GO FLYERS!

From Chris to Oskars: Meet Your Philadelphia Flyers 2010 Olympic Hopefuls

Travis Hughes — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:40:04 -0000

Chris Pronger skates for Team Canada at the Salt Lake City games in 2002.

View full size photo »

If you ever poke around at the new SBNation.com (and if you don't, then what are you doing with your life?), you've no doubt noticed SBN Hockey's running feature over the last week or so. Each site on the network has taken a look at their respective team, noting which players are locks to make their national teams and which players have outside chances at traveling to Vancouver next month.

While most of the Flyers are Canadian -- seriously, it's absurd the number of Canadians on this roster -- and will have trouble cracking a stacked roster, there are some who will make it. Of course, there are also other players who will make the squad in other countries, and you might be surprised at who has a shot.

After the jump, we'll break down the Flyers roster and see who has a chance at representing their country in Vancouver this February.

Team Canada

The pressure is on for the host country. After a disappointing showing in 2006 at Turin that saw Canada come home without a medal, anything less than the gold will be unacceptable north of the border.

Chris Pronger: There's absolutely no doubt that Pronger will be representing Canada in Vancouver. He's an experienced Olympian, winning the gold with Canada at Salt Lake City in 2002. He also played for his country in the 2006 Turin games and the 1998 Nagano games, as well as in the 1997 World Championships and the 1993 World Junior Championships. Pronger, along with former Anaheim teammate Scott Niedermayer, will be expected to lead the Canadian blueline. Packing His Bags.
Mike Richards: It's hard to see how Canada could keep Richards off the roster. The captain of the Canadian team that won the World Junior Championship in 2005, Richards has played internationally on three different occasions. Packing His Bags.
Jeff Carter: While not as strong a lock as Richards, Carter still has a very strong shot at making the team this year. He's versatile, obviously proven in the NHL, and he's got international experience, winning the WJC gold with Richards in '05. A Solid Bet.
Simon Gagne: It appears that Gagne will be held out by injury. He was probably about as likely to make the team as Carter prior to sustaining his injury during the Flyers season, but considering he won't be playing hockey when Team Canada announces their roster this month, it's hard to imagine Gagne will get another chance to represent his country. It's a shame, too, considering he played for Canada in the 2006 and 2002 Games. Staying Home.
Also staying home: Arron Asham, Blair Betts, Danny Briere, Dan Carcillo, Riley Cote, Claude Giroux, Ray Emery, Scott Hartnell, Ian Laperriere, Jon Kalinski, Darroll Powe, Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent

Team USA

USA is expected to ice a much younger team than they have in recent Olympic games. Only six players over the age of 30 were invited to their summer camp, and there's no guarantee that all of those players will make the team. Guys like Chris Chelios, Keith Tkachuk, and Brian Rolston were left out of camp as general manager Brian Burke tries to create a younger team that can bring USA Hockey back to the summit.

There are only three Americans on the Flyers roster. They'll announce the roster on NBC during the Winter Classic.

James van Riemsdyk: JVR wasn't invited to USA's summer camp and he wasn't even expected to make the Flyers this season. But to say the 19-year-old has been impressive in the early stages of his pro career is an understatement, and there's no doubt he's at least opened some eyes with the USA brass. Will that get him a roster spot, though? It's tough to say. It's true that the youth movement on the team is here to stay, but it might be a little too early for JVR. He's got a lot of other players to beat out, but he deserves consideration and he'll likely get it. 50/50.
Matt Carle: He wasn't invited to the summer orientation camp either, but when you lead NHL defenseman in plus/minus, you'll open some eyes as well. He'd be a dark horse candidate for sure, and he could be dismissed as a player padded by playing with Chris Pronger. But when you look at some of the other players that attended the summer camp -- Tom Gilbert, Ron Hainsey, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, -- you could see Carle getting a spot over some of those guys. A Possibility.
Staying home: Brian Boucher

Team Finland

Led by goaltender Antero Niittymaki, Finland won the silver medal at Turin in 2006, beating Canada in the process. They aren't favorites to medal in Vancouver, but to say they couldn't surprise would be severely underestimating the Fins.

Kimmo Timonen: Kimmo is an absolute lock for Team Finland. He's their best defenseman, no doubt. There's really not much else to say. He's to Finland as he is to the Flyers -- a solid rock of a defenseman that can be counted on to play huge minutes. Packing His Bags.
Mika Pyorala: He made the preliminary roster over the summer, and making the Flyers certainly helps his chances to make the Olympic roster. He's not a lock at this point, but general manager Jari Kurri has been to Philadelphia to watch Pyorala play and has said good things about his play -- "he's a smart player at both ends of the ice," "you know what you are getting with him." Solid endorsements. Wouldn't Be Surprised.
Former Flyers To Watch: Antero Niittymaki, Joni Pitkanen, Ossi Vaananen, Sami Kapanen

Team Latvia

Probably the weakest team in the Olympics, NHL.com didn't even bother to preview them in their series over the summer. It's understandable, though. They have very little NHL talent on their roster, but one of those players does play for Philadelphia.

Oskars Bartulis: Even as an AHL player, Bartulis was one of the best Latvian players in North America. Now that he's in the NHL and playing solidly, it seems as though Bartulis will suit up for his country in February. He's played in pre-tournament games for Latvia, but didn't play in the World Championships. Things have changed now that he's made the jump to the NHL, and you can be sure that the Latvian brass won't let Bartulis go unnoticed. A Strong Bet.

Team Norway

They surprised by qualifying for Olympics, but could they stage an upset or two? There is only one Norwegian in the NHL. He plays in Philadelphia.

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen: Tollefsen has been injured for most of the season, but he is expected to be fine by February, so it would be an utter shock if he wasn't named to Team Norway. Packing His Bags.
Former Flyers To Watch: Patrick Thoresen

Team Sweden

Former Flyers To Watch: Peter Forsberg

Ousting John Stevens: Too soon, or a necessary decision?

Travis Hughes — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:59:32 -0000

The sole reason for this website is to mobilize the Flyers fan base and send a message to the Flyers organization. That message is that Head Coach John Stevens has had enough time to hone his coaching skills and mold this Flyers hockey team into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Instead, inconsistencies continue to plague Stevens and his players. And we're not talking about big name players going in and out of the lineup with injuries. We're talking about just about the entire squad falling asleep for 1-2 periods at a time, and then suddenly waking up in time to muster a late 3rd period effort that still falls short. They are the same issues from 2-3 years ago that still haven't been addressed, and they are reasons why this Flyers hockey team will not be able to contend with the NHL elites like the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been desimated [sic] by injuries all year long, yet still are sitting atop the Eastern Conference. It's called a "60 minute effort", and Stevens has yet to show that he can get that concept across to his team.

>> Newly founded FireJohnStevens.net

In professional sports, the coach is always the scapegoat. No matter what the team or the situation, if a team is under performing, it's easier to say goodbye to one guy than to do so with a whole case of players. If the Flyers continue to play inconsistent hockey as they have over the last, oh, 100 regular season games or so, it's perfectly plausible to think John Stevens could be gone as the bench boss of this club.

And these rumors have circulated in the past, like when the team opened the season winless in their first six last season, or when they lost 10 straight the year before, or when the Flyers fell to Pittsburgh for the second season in a row. But never have the waves of discontent seemed as violent as they do now. The dissent seems louder now among Flyer fans, here on this site, in other places on the web (as evidenced by the above quote), and even in the media.

Over the weekend, Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer penned an opinion article that questioned Stevens ability to mold the Flyers into Stanley Cup contenders, using those same Penguins as an example.

If this inconsistency continues, the calls for coach John Stevens' job will grow louder. Last season's Penguins are the model franchise for getting results with an in-season coaching change. The Penguins were 27-25-5 and 10th in the Eastern Conference when coach Michel Therrien was fired in mid-February. Therrien's replacement, Dan Bylsma, led the Pens to an 18-3-4 regular-season finish, the fourth seeding, and the Stanley Cup.

It's a different situation here in Philly, though. In Pittsburgh, Therrien had lost his team. They simply didn't want to play for him and his defensive style was not suited to their talent. It would be a lot like if Ken Hitchcock were still around coaching this Flyers bunch. Carchidi even mentions that "the Flyers love playing for the hardworking Stevens," so how can a parallel be drawn here?

That's not to say there aren't legitimate questions to ask. The fact of the matter is -- and we all know it -- that this team has been unacceptable inconsistent since the start of last season and even before then. John Stevens has been the coach the entire time. But Mike Richards has also been captain the entire time. And Jeff Carter has been his wing man. And Kimmo Timonen has been an assistant captain. And... well, you get the point. Could it be the players, not the coach?

It seems Daily News beat writer Frank Seravalli believes so. He wrote an opinion piece today defending Stevens, but it was one quote from an unnamed Flyers player that stands out.

"It's not Johnny," the player who asked not to be named told Seravalli. "We have a lot of problems right now. He's not one of them. His systems work. He is in our face when we're not doing what we're supposed to. He has a lot more fire than people know about. For whatever reason, we've let him down."

What could those reasons be? The injuries are the most obvious problem. Danny Briere, Simon Gagne, Darroll Powe, Blair Betts, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen have all missed considerable time, forcing players like Jared Ross, David Laliberte, Andreas Nodl, Oskars Bartulis and Danny Syvret into the lineup. Some of those players have stunk up the joint while others have been serviceable, but it's still a dramatic drop in NHL talent.

The power play has failed them lately. The penalty kill has been terrible, too. And one could argue this team is built around superior special teams ability. When those units don't click, success probably isn't going to come. How is that Stevens fault?

The argument could be made, of course, that the inconsistency was there before the injuries and the recent struggles -- it's been here for years now. But who knows how much of that is truly Stevens fault. Could the team be too comfortable playing for Stevens? Could they need a shakeup in the so-called leadership group? Could the front office be the real problem, not giving Stevens the proper tools he needs?

I don't know if we'll ever know the answers to these questions. I just hope we don't toss out another coach just because it's the easy way out.